1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gaming machine such as a pinball slot machine (a so-called “Pachi-Slot machine” in Japan) or a pinball machine (a so-called “Pachinko machine” in Japan) including a liquid crystal display aside from a variable display device provided with a plurality of reels.
2. Description of the Related Art
For example, a pinball slot machine (a so-called “Pachi-Slot machine” in Japan) has a mechanical variable display device provided with a plurality of reels for variably displaying symbols in a front display window or an electric variable display device for displaying symbols on reels on a screen. As the player performs start operation, control means controls the variable display device for rotating the reels, thereby producing variable display of symbols. Then, the rotating reels are stopped in order automatically in a given time or as the player performs stop operation. At this time, if the symbols on the reels appearing in the display window become a specific combination (winning symbol combination), game play medium such as medals or coins are paid out to the player as the prize of the win.
In the current mainstream model, to complete a winning game for paying out medals and coins to the player as a specific symbol combination is arranged along the pay line made activated, which will be hereinafter referred to as activated line, it is required that a prize be won according to internal lottery processing (simply, internal lottery), which will be hereinafter referred to as internal winning, and that the player perform stop operation at the timing at which the symbol combination indicating completion of the winging game of the prize gaining the internal winning, which will be hereinafter referred to as internal winning combination, can be stopped on the activated line. That is, even if the internal winning is accepted, if the player cannot perform the stop operation at the good timing, the player cannot complete the winning game of the internal winning combination. That is, the gaming machines requiring that the player have a technique for performing the stop operation at the good timing (the relative importance of intervention of the technique called “observation push” is high) are mainstream at present.
A gaming machine is provided for displaying on a liquid crystal display provided aside from the mechanical variable display device, a symbol or a message required for arranging a specific symbol combination along the activated line when the variable display device stops based on the skill of the player concerning the press push so that even the player having a low skill of game play operation can play a game taking an interest in the game play.
The gaming machine in the related art includes the liquid crystal display being disposed in front of reels viewed from the front for displaying an image from the outside of the area of a reel display window to the inside of the area and superposing the image on the reel symbols for display to enhance the effect of the game aside from the mechanical variable display device for stopping and displaying symbols on reels with respect to a symbol combination responsive to the winning state of game play.
The liquid crystal display used at the time includes a light guiding plate with a light deflection pattern on the back to guide light into a liquid crystal panel. To allow light to pass through, no light deflection pattern is involved in the reel-opposed part of the light guiding plate, which will be hereinafter referred to as reel window. The player visually recognizes the symbols on each reel through the reel window. A cold-cathode tube for applying light to the light guiding plate is placed above and below the light guiding plate.
Liquid crystal panel backlights of the liquid crystal display are made up of light emission means implemented as the cold-cathode tubes and the light guiding plate with the light deflection pattern to guide light into the liquid crystal panel. The reel-opposed part of the light guiding plate (reel window) is made a transmission area with no light deflection pattern so as to enable the player to clearly see the symbols on the reel positioned at the back of the light guiding plate. Thus, the reel window involves no backlight because no light deflection pattern exists in the reel window, and a problem of dark display of the liquid crystal panel can occur. In order to solve the above problem, a fluorescent lamp is placed above and below the reel window as auxiliary light replacing cold-cathode tubes.
The configuration described above is disclosed in JP-A-2002-143377 (see paragraph [0053] and FIG. 4).